Not quite autumn

Update: Two weeks later. The autumn colours are now truly spectacular.

This is the last of the photos from 10th October.

Actually it is autumn but the trees haven't changed colour yet. We went for a walk in the ski resort of Candanchu yesterday, just as far as the beechwood. There were a few yellow or red patches, but not many.

horses

beech trees

And now France

Yesterday we went on a short trip to Oloron Sainte-Marie. It takes a bit more than an hour on excellent Spanish roads, a brilliant 8.606km tunnel and really poor French roads through the picturesque steep Aspe valley. The autumn colours on the northern (French) side were really spectacular. It was a beautiful day.
A relaxing café au lait on a sunny terrace and a steep walk to the eglise de Sainte Croix, kindly left open so we could see its painted Romanesque inside.

Sainte-Croix is at the end of the street

Then a trip to the hypermarché to buy French things. (wine, cheese, canard) Lidl was interesting. There were some products which they don't sell in Spanish Lidl, such as blueberry jam, but generally the same stuff. We spent more time in the big Leclerc opposite. Something you really don't want to buy in France is petrol, which is about 13 cents more than in the province of Huesca; admittedly it's supposed to be one of the cheapest in Spain for petrol.

Homewards  towards the mountains now starting to look white past the bracken-covered hills and the lovely slopes of trees.

Ordesa:full

Yesterday, the first of November was a holiday. We decided to go to the national park of Ordesa to see the autumn colours.
In the summer you can't drive into Ordesa. You have to leave the car in a big car park in the village of Torla and take a bus. Not in the autumn, however. We arrived at the big car park in Ordesa and we must have got the last space. It was crammed! Hundreds of people had thought the same as us. I hope it wasn't for the peace of the country, because it wasn't at all peaceful.
It was beautiful though. A little bit late for the best of the autumn leaves, but there were some lovely contrasts of colours; beeches, silver birches, poplars and pines.

We went for a nice walk along the track, talking, enjoying the views and taking a few photos. Then we drove back dow to Torla, passing the barrier; we must have been among the last cars allowed up befor they put up the FULL sign. 

In Torla we had a nice traditional meal of migas (fried breadcrumbs) and lamb chops washed down with red Somontano wine.

Autumn in Jaca

A ride on my bike to the other side of town, Llanos de la Victoria.

Autumn colours

The trees are just beginning to look pretty in their autumn colours. This was from the village of Hoz de Jaca in the Tena valley, where we went last week.

Yesterday we went to the Aragón valley, where the changes weren´t so advanced. Until we entered the Rioseta footpath there was a high wind blowing, but where we walked was protected from the bitter weather; we could see the clouds being dragged over the mountaintops. In our secluded walk we saw many bright red rose hips, some bright red mushrooms, but no bright red leaves. Those will come soon.